Can liver cancer be passed on to children?

The causes of cancer are mostly exogenous, and heredity plays a very small role in the causes of tumors. Except for colon cancer evolved from multiple polyposis coli and skin cancer evolved from xeroderma pigmentosum, other cancers are considered to have no clear relationship with heredity. For families where several people suffer from liver cancer at the same time or one after another, perhaps common living conditions, such as common exposure to certain carcinogens, are much more important than heredity.

Although liver cancer is not hereditary, it has a certain tendency to cluster in families. Members of a family that has had a liver cancer patient should be alert to this disease. Why does liver cancer have a certain tendency to cluster in families? At present, most scholars believe that: vertical transmission of hepatitis B virus: mothers who are infected with hepatitis B virus and become long-term virus carriers may transmit the virus to newborns during or after delivery. Because the immune function of newborns is not yet sound, they cannot effectively eliminate the virus and form a persistent infection, resulting in chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and finally liver cancer. Horizontal transmission of hepatitis B virus: family members of hepatitis patients have extremely close contact. If one of them is infected with hepatitis B virus, it is easy to affect others unknowingly. The eating habits and lifestyles of family members are basically the same, and everyone has basically the same chance of being exposed to carcinogenic factors. There is another explanation for multiple people in a family suffering from cancer. Its basic view is that any cancer is the result of two mutations in the genes of cells. For patients with sporadic non-familial cancer, these two changes occur after birth. Cancer patients with family tendency have been attacked by this carcinogenic factor before the mother became pregnant. When they are born, the cells in their bodies have already had a change that is prone to cancer. After birth, if they are hit by a carcinogenic factor again, they may develop cancer. Therefore, the chance of getting cancer is greater than that of ordinary people. This is the famous "two-hit theory". No matter which of the above explanations, it shows that liver cancer is mainly caused by external factors. Therefore, in a family where there is a liver cancer patient, other members do not need to consider the hereditary nature of liver cancer too much, let alone affect the marriage of their children. Five preventive measures According to a large number of epidemiological surveys in my country, the seven-character policy of improving water, preventing mold, and preventing hepatitis, or managing water, managing food, and preventing hepatitis, has not only achieved initial results, but has also become a feature of my country's primary prevention of liver cancer. In the past 10 to 20 years, some areas with a high incidence of liver cancer have taken primary prevention measures, and the incidence and mortality of liver cancer have dropped significantly. Secondary prevention can be summarized as "early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment." Tertiary prevention is active clinical treatment. They believe that the prevention of liver cancer should start from the following points: To prevent hepatitis, using hepatitis vaccines to prevent hepatitis and thus prevent liver cancer has become one of the most promising ways to prevent liver cancer. Not only should children be vaccinated with hepatitis B vaccine when they are born, but adults who have not been vaccinated with hepatitis B vaccine and have not had hepatitis can also be vaccinated with hepatitis B vaccine. However, it is estimated that it will take decades to see the effect. In addition to injecting hepatitis B vaccine, attention should also be paid to the control of other transmission routes, etc. One of the causes of liver cancer is caused by viruses. To prevent hepatitis B virus, we must also start from food hygiene and living habits. Wash hands frequently and separate meals. It is worth noting that people with hepatitis cannot be chefs. Do not eat moldy or mushy food, which contains aflatoxin, a substance that causes cancer. Eating moldy food is also likely to cause liver cancer. There is also no need to wash rice. If it encounters high temperature in a plastic bag, the temperature in the grain is high and the moisture is large, it will mold. Moldy food must be dried. For example: corn, peanuts, peanut oil, peanut butter, etc. are foods that are easy to mold. These foods should be kept carefully. "Third, drinking water should not be polluted. Drinking water containing chemical substances can easily cause cancer. Tap water is not necessarily clean. There are water tanks on the roofs of high-rise buildings with more than several floors. The water tanks should be cleaned by a dedicated person, and it is best to perform secondary disinfection. The water tank body should also use chemical substances that will not pollute the water. Appropriate selenium supplementation. For people with low selenium, use selenium-enriched yeast, selenium polysaccharides, and selenium-enriched salts to supplement selenium and increase blood selenium levels. Reduce nitrosamine intake and quit smoking and drinking. Smoking and drinking are also not good for fatty liver. Drinking wine, beer, and a small amount of alcohol can promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, but this is not the case. Alcohol is harmful to the human body. The gastric mucosa in the stomach has a protective effect on the human body. Alcohol can digest the gastric mucosa, and the cells of the stomach are injured, and the toxic substances in the food are easily absorbed by the stomach. This can easily cause alcoholic hepatitis, reduce the immune function of the liver and the body, and damage the liver's detoxification function. This is why people who drink have poor detoxification function and are prone to alcoholic cirrhosis.